The Olympians and Lesser
Gods/Goddesses
ZEUS
Roman: Jupiter
-Ruler of the SKY
- Raised on the island of Crete
-Remember he escaped his father
swallowing him
•Thunder is his weapon
How he relates to the
Odyssey…
-Brought thunder, rain, and
storms
•Shield was the Aegis
•Eagle was his favorite
-tells Athena that he holds
-Married to Hera
bird
Odysseus in high esteem
-Falls in love with one woman
-Zeus promises Helios
that the men will be
after another, but tries to hide his
punished for eating his
infidelities from Hera
cattle
-mentioned on almost every page
-He punishes them by
drowning them in a storm. of the Iliad
-Zeus was still subject to the decisions
of the Fates
HERA
Roman: Juno
-Wife of Zeus
-Her name means lady
-Would persecute Zeus’
mistresses and their
children
How she relates to
the Odyssey…
Paris judged
Aphrodite as the
most beautiful
goddess over Hera
Epithet: Zeus,
husband of Hera
-Sent the 2 serpents to kill
Hercules (Zeus is his
father)
-Zeus’ sister --Tried to
overthrow Zeus but he
caught her and hung her
upside down in the
constellations; he finally
let her down because he
stand to listen to her
whine and cry anymore;
they called a truce
•The peacock is her
symbol
•Defender of marriage and
monogamy
• Zeus never
remained faithful to
her
•Ares is her son (with
Zeus)
•Some myths say that
she bore Hephaestus
APHRODITE
Roman: Venus
-Goddess of love, beauty, and
fertility
-Origin of name:
-Foam (refers to the story of
Cronos and Ouranos)
*Married to Hephaestus
- was not a faithful wife
How she relates to the
Odyssey…
-Caused the Trojan war
-Promised Paris the
most beautiful woman in
the world (Helen)
-Paris chose her as the
most beautiful goddess
- bore children w/many men
- Love Affair w/Ares
1. Hephaestus found
out and created a
mesh of gold and
caught the lovers
2. Hephaestus brings the
other gods to see and
they laugh at him
ATHENA
Roman:
Minerva
Goddess of Wisdom and War
-daughter of Zeus, without a
mother
-she sprang from his head in full
armor
-Zeus’ favorite child
How she relates to the Odyssey:
-Athens was her special city
-Sided with the Greeks
-she created the olive, it became
-serves as a guide and protector
to Odysseus throughout the
poem
her tree
-the owl is her bird
APOLLO
God of Poetry and Music
-master musician (plays the golden lyre)
-lord of the silver bow (the Archer god)
-the Healer- first taught men the healing
art
-God of Light and Truth
- He never lies
-the falcon is the messenger
How he relates to the
Odyssey…
of Apollo
-Helped the Trojans in the war
-he is a son of Zeus
-There are many references to
Apollo while Penelope’s suitors
are in Ithaca.
ARTEMIS
Roman: Diana
-Twin sister of Apollo
-Known as the virgin goddess of the wild
How she relates to the
-Liked to roam the mountains with a band Odyssey…
of nymphs
-King Agamemnon (on
the Greek side of the
- The hunter Actaeon once
Trojan War)
viewed her bathing and she
turned him into a stag
- Torn apart by his own dogs
-Killed a stag sacred to
Artemis
-His fleet was stranded
by contrary winds
-Had to sacrifice his
daughter, Iphigenia
DEMETER
Roman
Name: Ceres
How she relates to
the Odyssey:
Kalypso (Calypso)
reminds Hermes that
Demeter was
allowed to take
Iasion (one of Zeus’
sons) as a lover until
Zeus struck him
down with a
thunderbolt
The Goddess of the Corn
The daughter of Cronus and Rhea
-She, along with Dionysus, were considered mankind’s best
friends
-harvest festivals were held in her honor
-she is a female because the women planted the seed and
reaped the harvest while the men hunted and fought
-She was happy during harvest, but sad during winter
-her daughter, Persephone was taken to the underworld,
causing Demeter to leave Olympus
-Demeter refused to let anything grow until she had
Persephone back, Zeus allowed Persephone to spend 8
months of the year with Demeter
Persephone
Roman Name:
Persepine
The Goddess of Spring / Symbol = flower
The daughter of Demeter and Zeus
How she relates to
the Odyssey:
Odysseus has to go
the underworld to
talk to a blind
prophet and while
there, Persephone
allows him to see his
dead mother.
-She was kidnapped by Hades who went to Zeus to get permission to
take her as Hades’ bride.
-He takes her to the underworld, and she refuses to eat or be happy.
Her mother, Demeter, desperately searches for her, and once she
finds out where he daughter was, she refuses to harvest causing the
earth to start dying and growing cold
-Zeus is forced to make Hades give her back which he does but not
until he tricks her into finally eating some seeds of a pomegranate.
She is returned to her mom but Hades enforces the rule that if one
eats in the underworld, one must remain there.
Zeus decides to compromise and makes Persephone stay in the
underworld a month per seed she ate = 6 months. While she is in the
underworld, Demeter becomes sad and refuses to harvest = fall and
winter and when she is returned, everything springs to life = spring &
fall
HADES
Roman: Pluto
God of the Underworld
His queen was Persephone
-Hades (also a name for the
underworld) is a vague and shadowy
place / Symbol is helmet of invisibility
How he relates to the
Odyssey…
-Charon- ferries the souls of the dead
to Hades, must have money on their
lips when they were buried
-Odysseus is one of the -Cerberus- 3 headed dragon tailed
few to enter Hades and
dog who permits spirits to enter, but
leave it (when he goes to never leave
the Land of the Dead)
-Zeus’ brother and child of Cronos
-sees his mother,
and Rhea
Anticlea there and
-the 3 brothers divided the earth and
Elpenor
chose lots, Hades got the Underworld
HESTIA
Roman: Vesta
-Zeus’ sister
-Goddess of the Hearth (symbol of
the home)
-Every meal began and ended with
an offering to her:
Hestia, in all dwellings of men and immortals
Yours is the highest honor, the sweet wine offered
First and last at the feast, poured out to you duly.
Never without you can gods or mortals hold banquet.
Each city had a public hearth sacred to Hestia,
where the fire was never allowed to go out.
If a new city was founded, their hearth was
started with coals from the mother-city.
Vestal virgins were priestess that took vows of
chastity and served her.
HERMES
Roman: Mercury
-Messenger god
-Son of Zeus and Maia
-Escorts the dead to Hades
-One of the only gods to cross all of the
worlds
How he relates to the
Odyssey…
-During the Trojan War,
he was sent to steal
something that was
unobtainable
-in love with Aphrodite
POSEIDON
Roman: Neptune
-God of the Sea, Earthquakes, and
horses
-Zeus’ brother
How he relates to the
Odyssey…
-Had a splendid palace beneath
-Trident is his symbol
the sea, but was often on Olympus
-Dolphins are
-Married to Amphitrite, a
commonly associated
granddaughter of the Titan, Ocean with him
-Favored the Trojans
1. Gave the first horse to man
-When Hera tried to
cause a windstorm to
drown the Trojans,
Poseidon calmed the
sea so they could get
to land
2. Commonly called “Earth-Shaker”
3. Always shown carrying his trident
-Also associated with
horses
DIONYSUS
Roman name:
Bacchus
-Born in Thebes
God of Wine
-last God to enter Olympus
-only god whose parents were not both divine (his mother was mortal)
-his mother was near birth when she died, Zeus hid the child (Dionysus) from Hera
-he loved the princess of Crete, Ariadne, when she died, he took a crown he had given
her and placed it among the stars
-he traveled to the underworld and rescued his mother and took her to Olympus, where
she lived with the immortals because she was the mother of a god
-he could be kind or cruel and mean
-great poems were written to him and the first plays were performed at a festival in his
honor
HEPHAESTUS
Roman: Vulcan
“The Celestial Artist”
-One myth: born lame and Hera was
so displeased that she flung him out
of heaven
How he relates to the
Odyssey…
Metal items mentioned
throughout the Odyssey
are credited to
Hephaestus
-Second myth: Zeus and Hera were
having a fight and Hephaestus took
her side. Zeus kicked him out and he
became lame from that fall that took a
full day.
-Hera had Hephaestus in spite of
Zeus and he was born lame.
-Has a mortal job: blacksmith, makes
him more common than the other
gods
-made a cage/trap to catch
-Married to Aphrodite
Aphrodite with Ares
-laughed at by other gods
ARES
Roman Name: Mars
God of War
-Son of Zeus and Hera, both of whom
hated him
How he relates to the
Odyssey:
-is mean and whiny when injured in the
Iliad
-had an affair with Aphrodite
-Fought with Trojans
because Aphrodite
sided with Paris
-his bird was the vulture
-Romans liked Mars better than
-The disguised
Odysseus tells the
swineherd, that Ares
and Athena had once
made him a good
fighter
the Greeks liked Ares
Also, The winner of the
fight between
Odysseus and
Penelope’s suitors will
be the War God’s
choice
Eros (Cupid)
-God of love
-Son of Venus
Lesser Gods
-Constant Companion
-Armed with bow and
arrow  shot darts of
desire
Cupid married Psyche
Aphrodite was jealous of
Psyche because she
was so beautiful.
The Fates
The 9 Muses
-The inspiration of
poetry, music and dance
-They were said to
dance and sing at
parties held by the gods
and heroes.
-Three goddesses
sometimes called the
daughters of night.
-Clotho- the spinner of
life
Lachesis- apportioner
(measures time for ea.
mortal)
Atropos- the inevitable
(cuts the thread)